March 31

1776		Abigail Adams writes to husband John that women are “determined to foment a rebellion” if the new Declaration of Independence fails to guarantee their rights. Abigail Adams Vents to Mercy Otis Warren About John http://www.newenglandhistoricalsociety.com/abigail-adams-vents-to-mercy-otis-warren-about-john/
1790		In Paris, France, Maximilien Robespierre is elected president of the Jacobin Club.
1836		The first monthly installment of The Pickwick Papers by Charles Dickens is published in London Medical Hypotheses Volume 67, Issue 4, 2006, Pages 975–979 Fat snorers and sleepy-heads: Were many distinguished characters of the past affected by the obstructive sleep apnea syndrome? Andrea A. Contia, b, , , Antonio Contic, Gian Franco Gensinia, b doi:10.1016/j.mehy.2006.01.067 Get rights and content Summary The obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) is a clinical condition characterized by the coexistence of irregular breathing at night with excessive daytime sleepiness, and it represents a major social health issue because of its high prevalence and of the growing public awareness of it. The XIX century description of “Fat Joe”, the famous character of Charles Dickens’s Pickwick Papers, is often retained the first presentation of a person affected by OSAS, since Joe was an obese individual who fell asleep during daytime while performing even extremely simple tasks. However, apart from the fact that Joe’s Picwickian syndrome (“the obesity hypoventilation syndrome”) needs to be differentiated from true OSAS, already in the Hippocratic Corpus (V–IV century BC) many clues regarding apnea and sleepiness are present, and in 79 AD the Roman author Pliny the Younger clearly reported the death of a man in whom obesity, sleepiness and snoring were co-present in a unique clinical picture. In this paper, elements suggesting OSAS are traced back and evidenced in the XIX and XX centuries in distinguished figures, including Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte, Queen Victoria and President Franklin D. Roosevelt. A posteriori reconstruction of the health status of characters of the past is difficult, and, to an extent, speculative, but the elements here provided appear relevant, since the possible presence of disabling OSAS in important personages of the past may have negatively influenced not only their health status, but also their social life and their work activity. Corresponding author. Tel.: +39 055 417928; fax: +39 055 4379384. Copyright © 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
1889		The Eiffel Tower in Paris officially opens on the Left Bank as part of the Exhibition of 1889.
1916		General John Pershing and his army rout Pancho Villa‘s army in Mexico.
1917		The United States purchases the Virgin Islands from Denmark for $25 million.
1918		Daylight Savings Time goes into effect throughout the United States for the first time.
1933		To relieve rampant unemployment, Congress authorizes the Civilian Conservation Corps .
1940		La Guardia airport in New York officially opens to the public.
1980		President Jimmy Carter deregulates the banking industry.
Born on March 31
1596		René Descartes, French philosopher and scientist.
1732		Franz Joseph Haydn, Austrian composer.
1809		Nikolai V. Gogol, Russian writer (The Inspector General, Dead Souls). Literary giant Nikolai Gogol opens new chapter in rivalry between Russia and Ukraine http://gu.com/p/26f62/stw
1811		Robert Wilhelm Bunsen, chemist, inventor of the Bunsen burner.
1914		Octavio Paz, Mexican diplomat and Nobel Prize-winning writer.
		Journal of Ethnopharmacology Mexican medicinal plants with anxiolytic or antidepressant activity: Focus on preclinical research Carolina López-Rubalcavaa, , , Erika Estrada-Camarenab  Show more Choose an option to locate/access this article: Check if you have access through your login credentials or your institution Check access Purchase $35.95 doi:10.1016/j.jep.2016.03.053 Get rights and content Abstract Ethnopharmacological relevance Aim of the study Methods Results Conclusions Graphical abstract Keywords Mexican traditional medicine; Anxiety; Depression; Medicinal plants Corresponding author. Available online 25 March 2016 In Press, Corrected Proof — Note to users Anxiety and depression are considered the most prevalent psychiatric disorders worldwide. In Mexico, the use of medicinal plants to alleviate the symptoms associated with these psychiatric disorders is increasing. However, there is little scientific evidence that validates the efficacy of these plants. This evidence needs to be critically revised, and further studied to provided scientific support for their use. To identify the plants that are used in Mexico for the treatment of disorders related to anxiety and depression, and to review the current preclinical and when available, clinical information of these plants. We searched in scientific databases (Pubmed, Web of Science, Scopus and other web sources such as “Biblioteca digital de la medicina tradicional Mexicana” ) for Mexican plants used for the treatment of anxiety and depression that have been analyzed in preclinical studies. Additional information was obtained from published books. For this review, we also consider those plants used in Mexican traditional medicine for the treatment of “nervios,” “susto” or “espanto;” common terms that describe symptoms related to anxiety and depression disorders. The bibliographic search identified 49 plants used in Mexican traditional medicine for the treatment of disorders related to anxiety and depression. From all these plants, 59% were analyzed in preclinical research, and only 8% were tested in clinical studies; only a few of these studies tried to elucidate their mechanism of action. In general, it is proposed that the plant extracts interact with the GABAergic system. However, only part of these studies attempted to analyze other neurotransmitter systems. Finally, in some cases, drug-herbal interactions were reported. There is a large number of Mexican medicinal plants used as a treatment for anxiety and depression disorders. Although some of these plants have been studied in preclinical research, in most cases these studies are preliminary, and the understanding of the mechanism of action is inconclusive. The need for systematic studies in preclinical and clinical research is evident, and efforts should be done to fulfill these research. Finally, it is important also to study possible drug-herbal interactions to establish specific recommendations for people that use these plants as anxiolytic or antidepressant treatments either alone or in combination with another type of medicine. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.
1926		John Fowles, English novelist (The Collector, The French Lieutenant’s Woman).
1948		Al Gore, Vice President to President William J. Clinton (1993-2001).